452 THE CALIFORNIA CUCKOO. 
them. The lady is disposed to be critical at first, and backs away in 
apparent indifference or flies off to another limb in the same tree. This is 
only a fair test of gallantry and provokes pursuit, as was expected. Hour 
after hour, and it may be day aiter day, the suit is pressed by one and 
another until the maiden indicates her preference, and begins to respond in 
kind by nodding and bowing and swaying before the object of her choice, 
and to pour out an answering flood of softly whispered adulation. The best 
of it is, however, that these affectionate demonstrations are kept up during 
the nesting season, so that even when one bird relieves its mate upon the 
eggs it must needs pause for a while outside the nest to bow and sway and 
swap compliments. 
The Northwestern Flicker is largely, but not exclusively, resident in 
winter. Being restricted at that season as to its insect diet, its presence 
appears to depend more or less upon the abundance of fruits and nuts. It 
eats not only grubs and worms but seeds, acorns and berries of various kinds. 
The fruit of the madrone appears to be a special favorite with this bird, as 
it is with the Robin, and I fancied that Flickers were unusually abundant on 
that account in the winter of 1907-08. 
No. 180. 
CALIFORNIA CUCKOO. 
A. O. U. No. 387a. Coccyzus americanus occidentalis Ridgway. 
Synonyms.—WESTERN YELLOW-BILLED Cuckoo. Rarn-Crow. 
Description.—4dult: Above nearly uniform, satiny, brownish gray, with 
something of a bronzy-green sheen; the inner webs of the primaries cinnamon- 
rufous, the outer webs and sometimes the wing coverts tinged with the same; 
central pair of tail-feathers like the back and completely covering the others during 
repose; remaining pairs sharply graduated,—blackish with broad terminal white 
spaces, the outer pair white-edged ; a bare space around the eye yellow ; underparts 
uniform silky white or sordid; bill curved, upper mandible black, except touched 
with yellow on sides; lower mandible yellow, with black tip. Jmmature: Similar 
to adult, but plumage of back with slight admixture of cinnamon-rufous or vina- 
ceous; tail-feathers narrower,—the contrast between their black and white areas 
less abrupt. Length 12.50-13.50 (317.5-342.9); wing 6.00 (152.4); tail 6.50 
(165.1) ; bill 1.06 (26.9); depth of bill at base .38 (9.7). 
Recognition Marks.—Robin to Kingfisher size; slim form and lithe appear- 
ance; brown above, white below; sharply-graduated, broadly white-tipped_tail- 
feathers. 
Nesting.—W est: a careless structure of twigs, bark-strips, and catkins, placed 
in trees or bushes, usually at moderate heights. Eggs: 3 or 4, pale greenish blue, 
